Bavaria Brauerei AG was founded in 1897, St.Pauli Actien-Brauerei was founded
in 1862. The two merged in 1922. A further dozen North German breweries
(including Jever) were taken over, before in 1994 itself falling prey to
Brau & Brunnen. Elbschloss-Brauerei
GmbH was already owned by Brau &
Brunnen and this was integrated into Bavaria-St.Pauli.

In 1997 Brau und Brunnen announced the closure of the Hamburg brewery, a
decision that was met with much opposition in the city. In January 1998
the state of Hamburg bought the brewery, with Jever also leaving Brau
& Brunnen to become independent again. In December 1998 Hamburg
sold the brewery on to Holsten, the city's other major brewer.